Be Prepared

Being prepared is all in the details, not some of the time, but all of the time.

On a day to day basis it is easy to overlook some of the smaller details, that at the time—when it is important—can become crucial. Knowing your blood type could be one of those details.

What is your blood type? Many of us have probably been told this small seemingly insignificant detail but how many of us commit it to memory? But even more importantly who else knows this information if we are incapacitated and are unable to provide it.

Identifying your correct blood type in a timely manner could be the difference between life and death.

This is why it is important to not only be aware of your blood type—and share the information with your partner, spouse or children—but be able to provide these details when emergency contacts cannot be found during a time pressing situation. What can we do?

There are a number of solutions we can turn to. For serious preppers there is nothing like having contingency plans, so perhaps a few of these solutions can be employed.

For an everyday solution, a simple and less intrusive option is to either keep a medical card in your wallet or on your person with your blood type and additional details such as emergency contact information and the specifics of your family doctor.

An example of a blood type tag.

Wallets or purses, however, may not always be on us in the time of an emergency or we may forget them. The best solution for this is to keep this information on our person at all times in the form of a blood type tag. This may be as a metal tag on a neck chain or bracelet with as much or little information as you wish—but including at least your blood type. For hard-core preppers there is no other permanent solution than a tattoo. It is important to keep in mind that this information should be clear and not incorporated into other artistic impressions. A tattoo in plain clear text either near the heart or on a shoulder could be the best option.

Hard-core preppers may opt for a more permanent solution.

It is also important to be mindful of how you format the information you include. So when recording your blood type remember to use standard formatting common with your region. For example, using a common format used worldwide similar to the following: A + (POS) as the representation of blood type A Positive. By clearly indicating the ‘A’ followed by ‘+’ and ‘POS’ will help to avoid confusion or interpretation of the wrong blood type, such as A – if the ‘+’ sign becomes scratched or worn over time on a metal tag. In addition, recording the detail on both sides of a tag and on two copies of a tag will provide a number of contigentcies built into the one solution.

Another option is to attach blood type tags to footwear.

Another popular solution is the use of blood type tags on shoes or boots. These can be common for military, emergency services or serious survivalists. Keep in mind these do rely on your wearing the same shoes or boots or attaching a tag to all footwear, however, can be a good addition as a secondary solution.

But the thing to remember is, no matter what solution you choose, make sure the information you are recording is correct, by either asking your doctor, and making sure the information is clear and easy to find by someone other than yourself, even in a situation when you cannot assist.

Identifying your correct blood type in a timely manner could be the difference between life and death.